TOEC welcomes all visitors, including colleges, elementary to high schools, scout troops, youth groups and clubs. Highland Lodge, with a wood-burning stone fireplace, colorful nature displays, comfortable woodland cabins, friendly service, excellent meals and knowledgeable educators is a perfect fit for these activities. Some visitors stay overnight, while others visit for a day. Center staff also visit schools and provide lessons in classrooms.

After the first snowfall, our full-service cross country ski and snowshoe programs swing into operation at Fahnestock Winter Park. At the Center in late winter, our Hudson Valley Maple Farm starts producing syrup from the Sugar Maple grove.

Through the year, public programs celebrate the seasons. These include the annual Cross Country Ski Swap Sale in November, Winterfest in January, Sap to Syrup in March, and Mountain Laurel Outdoor Rec Fest in May. TOEC is located an hour and half north of New York City by car or Metro North to nearby Cold Spring.

Maps

Different lessons are offered to assist teachers in designing a field trip program that enriches classroom study. The lessons emphasize hands on activities in an outdoor setting and will be adapted to the season and weather conditions.

SCIENCE

Aquatic Ecology & Watersheds (Sept-Oct, May-June):

Discover a fresh water pond by collecting, observing and identifying aquatic life from the shore or a study raft. Topic may include watersheds, the water cycle, water quality testing, and aquatic insects.

Birds:

Observe birds that reside at TOEC and explore their habitats. Topics may include identification, bird songs, migration, binocular use, field guides, data collection through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project Feeder Watch.

Educator's Choice:

Let each of our Educators choose a lesson to teach. They will pick a favorite lesson, a seasonal lesson or a combination of several lessons.

Energy Flow:

Discover cycles in tha natural world and how energy flows through them. Topics may include, water, carbon and nutrient cycles, trophic levels, food webs and the interrelationships between their components.

Forest Ecology:

Explore TOEC's forested ecosystem. Topics may include tree identification, sucession, sustainable forestry practices, and the interrelationships between its inhabitants.

Mammals:

Learn about mammals that are commonly found at TOEC. Topics may include identification through examination of animal skins and skulls, adaptaions for survival, interrelationships, tracks and signs of wildlife.

Night Walk:

A "sensory" nocturnal walk. The activities engage the five senses. Other topics may include nocturnal animal adaptations, stars and constellations.

Soil Ecology (April-December)

Study the processes that produce soil and the life that lives within it. Topics can include the layers of soil erosion, the nutrient cycle, decomposers, and adaptations of life underground.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Maple Sugaring (Feb-March)

Learn the history behind making maple syrup, from tree to sap to syrup. Topics include tree identification, tapping a tree, collecting sap, boiling sap into syrup and sampling the product.

Outdoor Skills:

Topics may include basic needs for survival, fire building, shelter building, map and compass, low impact camping skills, and how to avoid a wilderness emergency situation.

* Ice skating (bring your own skates), broomball and ice fishing demonstrations on TOEC's Duck Pond. A warming fire will be available at Duck Pond.

* Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase in Highland Lodge

* A sugar on snow tasting will take place outside the maple sugar house highlighting the ageless tradition of local maple syrup heated to proper temperature and poured over fresh snow. A tremendous treat for all ages.